In this research project, Prof. David Williams examines how children with ASD process the passage of time. The findings have important implications for educators as well as parents and caregivers in helping support children with ASD.
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About
Diachronic thinking in the ability to think about events as spreading across time and consists of three components. First, the skill to infer past or future information from a current situation (example: the trees are dripping when you wake up, therefore you can infer it rained during the night). Second, the understanding that certain entities change qualitatively over time, but retain their identity (example: a caterpillar changes in to a butterfly, but is still the same animal). Third, the ability to understand that one event can be composed of multiple temporal events (example: The event ‘going on a holiday’ consists of packing, driving to the airport, getting on the plane etc). Most typically developing children have acquired these three skills by the age of 12.
There is some evidence demonstrating that individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a poor intuitive sense of time. This research suggests that ASD individuals find it hard to understand the passage of time as well as link it with ongoing activities. These difficulties can have important implications for everyday life. The current study investigates diachronic thinking in children with ASD. Understanding the specific difficulties children with ASD face can offer practical solutions to educators in helping support children with ASD.
Research Objectives
• To test the prediction that children with ASD show impairments on tests of the three components of diachronic thinking relative to a control group without ASD.
• To assess if performance on the tests of the different components of diachronic thinking is related.
• To assess if diachronic thinking performance is related to measures of general ability.
Programme and Methodology
Study 1: 46 participants (23 ASD, 23 control).
Study 2: 30 participants (15 ASD, 15 control).
• Children completed tasks for the three components of diachronic thinking.
• The second experiment included some control tasks and a measure of theory of mind (the ability to attribute mental states to other people).
Findings
• Children with ASD have a marked impairment in diachronic thinking.
• This impairment cannot be explained by other cognitive impairments, attention problems, or the lack of general knowledge.
• Performance on the tasks for the three components of diachronic thinking is related.
• Performance on diachronic tasks were not related to theory of mind or language level.
Impact
• This project offered new and important insight on diachronic thinking in children with ASD.
• Findings showed that children with ASD have difficulties in thinking about events as spreading across time.
• These results have important implications for educational settings. Teachers and/or SENCO’s should consider time-related difficulties and adapt their practice accordingly.